specimen

Definitions

nspecimena bit of tissue or blood or urine that is taken for diagnostic purposes"they collected a urine specimen for urinalysis"

nspecimenan example regarded as typical of its class

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Additional illustrations & photos:

The pewter spoon handle at the top, unearthed at Jamestown, is the oldest dated piece of American pewter in...

SPECIMEN TINTS OF ARTISTS' OIL COLOURS NO. 1

SPECIMEN TINTS OF ARTISTS' OIL COLOURS NO. 2

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Interesting fact:
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History houses the world's largest shell collection, some 15 million specimens. A smaller museum in Sanibel, Florida owns a mere 2 million shells and claims to be the worlds only museum devoted solely to mollusks.

nSpecimenA part, or small portion, of anything, or one of a number of things, intended to exhibit the kind and quality of the whole, or of what is not exhibited; a sample; as, a specimen of a man's handwriting; a specimen of a person's blood; a specimen of painting; aspecimen of one's art.

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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

Interesting fact:
The longest species of centipede is the giant scolopender (Scolopendra gigantea), found in the rain forests of Central and South America. It has 23 segments (46 legs) and specimens have been measured up to 10.5 inches long and 1" in diameter.

nspecimenA part or an individual taken as exemplifying a whole mass or number: something that represents or illustrates all of its kind; an illustrative example: as, a collection of geological specimens; a wild specimen of the human or of the feline race; a specimen page of a book (a page shown as a specimen of what the whole is or is to be); a specimen copy of a medal.

nspecimenIn zoology and botany, an individual animal or plant, or some part of one, prepared and preserved for scientific examination; an example of a species or other group; a preparation: as, a specimen of natural history; a specimen of the dog or the rose. Abbreviated sp. and spec.

nspecimenA typical individual; one serving as a specially striking or exaggerated example of the kind indicated.

nspecimenSynonyms Specimen, Sample. A specimen is a part of a larger whole employed to exhibit the nature or kind of that of which it forms a part, without reference to the relative quality of individual portions; thus, a cabinet of mineralogical specimens exhibits the nature of the rocks from which they are broken. A sample is a part taken out of a quantity, and implies that the quality of the whole is to be judged by it, and not rarely that it is to be used as a standard for testing the goodness, genuineness, or purity of the whole, and the like. In many cases, however, the words are used indifferently. Sample is more often used in trade: as, a sample of cotton or coffee.

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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary

nSpecimenspes′i-men a portion of anything to show the kind and quality of the whole: a sample, a typical individual: a preparation in natural history, &c., exemplifying anything noticeable in a species or other group.

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Quotations

Susan Sontag

“Nature in America has always been suspect, on the defensive, cannibalized by progress. In America, every specimen becomes a relic.”

Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

L., fr. specere, to look, to behold. See Spy

Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary

L. specimen—specĕre, to see.

Usage

In literature:

We were successful in procuring several good specimens of the Eigg pine, at a depth, in the conglomerate, of from eight to eighteen inches.

"The Cruise of the Betsey" by Hugh Miller

The specimen illustrated was probably taken from the end of a branch of a rather young and luxuriantly growing tree.

"Trees of the Northern United States" by Austin C. Apgar

The second court is of earlier date, and a fine specimen of sixteenth-century brickwork.

"England, Picturesque and Descriptive" by Joel Cook

A specimen in Mr. Thayer's collection, taken by Geo.

"The Bird Book" by Chester A. Reed

The oldest specimens known are very like the most modern.

"Needlework As Art" by Marian Alford

Half a dozen specimens are found in the McNiel collections.

"Ancient art of the province of Chiriqui, Colombia" by William Henry Holmes

He had published, as a specimen, the lives of Hales and Chillingworth.

"Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 3 (of 3)" by Isaac Disraeli

The attached portion, which is moderately pointed in young specimens, becomes extremely broad in old specimens.

"A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia (Volume 1 of 2)" by Charles Darwin

A specimen taken on May 19, 1940, at Baton Rouge contained three embryos.

"North American Yellow Bats, 'Dasypterus,' And a List of the Named Kinds Of the Genus Lasiurus Gray" by E. Raymond Hall

Of Cattleya gigas we have some two hundred specimens.

"The Woodlands Orchids" by Frederick Boyle

We have not compared our specimens directly with others from Middle America.

"Noteworthy Records of Bats From Nicaragua, with a Checklist of the Chiropteran Fauna of the Country" by J. Knox Jones

During the summer there were some excursions, which brought a number of specimens into the hands of our curator.

"St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 8, May 1886, No. 7." by Various

Specimens have been known to reach a ton in weight.

"The Romance of Natural History, Second Series" by Philip Henry Gosse

A single specimen or a few grouped together make a bright winter picture when associated with evergreens.

"Trees and Shrubs for English Gardens" by Ernest Thomas Cook

The margin is usually even, but specimens occur which show striations.

"Student's Hand-book of Mushrooms of America, Edible and Poisonous" by Thomas Taylor

How shall we account for the fact that the specimens so kindly sent us by our friends are generally moths?

"Butterflies and Moths" by William S. Furneaux

After such specimens have been obtained the method is the same as in the first case.

"Our Domestic Birds" by John H. Robinson

On reaching the fort I showed the agent the specimens.

"For the Allinson Honor" by Harold Bindloss

The lover of art will find various specimens of him, both in Venice and elsewhere.

"The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 3 (of 6)" by Luigi Antonio Lanzi

Most of the specimens taken later than one half hour after sunset had full stomachs.

"Mammals of the San Gabriel Mountains of California" by Terry A. Vaughan

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In poetry:

This was the crowning act of all;
And placed upon one common base,
Of all this mighty rolling ball
A specimen of every race.

"The Triumph Of Liberty" by James Madison Bell

The time slipped away in this innocent play,
When up jumped the bold Montague:
"Where's that specimen pin that I gayly did win
In raffle, and gave unto you,
Fortescue?"
No word spoke the guilty Emeu!

"The Ballad Of The Emeu" by Francis Bret Harte

Like a specimen? Huh! Well,
Take, for instance, his umbrell;
Wouldn’t think, until he spoke,
He could turn that to a joke;
Mark Twain couldn’t, bet you that!
That’s where Meeker beats Mark flat!

"Jabed Meeker, Humorist" by Ellis Parker Butler

Old Hawkins he was jubilant, and up at Peter's store
A lovely lot of specimens was showing;
And we gazed at them and groaned, for the truth had to be owned:
We had put him on a pile without our knowing.

"Hopeful Hawkins" by C J Dennis

Thus Frisseur his new trade began;
Was what he wish'd--the gentleman:
And found a charming specimen
How future profits would flow in;
Thought he'd his pinching irons sell,
For he could pinch without them well.

"The Milkman" by William Hutton

They are my very life, for every night
over my catalogues I pore and pore;
I recognize rare items with delight,
Nothing I read but philatelic lore;
And when some specimen of choice I buy,
In all the world there's none more glad than I.

"Stamp Collector" by Robert W Service

In news:

Revision of D6035 - 08Standard Test Method for Determining the Effect of Freeze-Thaw on Hydraulic Conductivity of Compacted or Intact Soil Specimens Using a Flexible Wall Permeameter .

The exhibits feature hands-on activities, role-playing opportunities, authentic museum specimens and artifacts, and hundreds of new things to discover about the arts, culture , science, and the environment.

In science:

In laboratory experiments, different neutral density ﬁlters are used to reduce the amount of light passing to specimens (without having an important effect on the wavelength spectrum), providing an assessment of the degree of reciprocity breakdown.

A Review of Accelerated Test Models

The thickness dependence of the occurring modes is measured on a wedge-shaped sample to perform all measurements on one specimen.

Unusual spin-wave population in nickel after femtosecond laser pulse excitation

Specimens representing a specific point in space and time were defined as a lot.

To promote awareness of what nature may have in store for us and to stimulate original thinking, experimental groups will be encouraged to share suggestions of puzzling effects and specimens of “zoo events.” Spontaneous theoretical responses are invited.

Theoretical Perspectives: XLIII Rencontres de Moriond - QCD

Next, we review energetic and geometric approaches to fracture size effects for specimens with a ﬂaw.

Size effects in statistical fracture

All the test specimens were of the same size and shape.

Piezonuclear neutrons from fracturing of inert solids

Even if these specimens were tested, the results were not included.

Dynamic behavior and microstructural properties of cancellous bone

No significant difference was found between the 3 lots of specimens for BV /TV (p = 0.54) and Tb.

Dynamic behavior and microstructural properties of cancellous bone

Th (p = 0.36). For the tested specimens, the mean value of BV/TV is abou t 17 % w ith a standard deviation of 3.9 % and the mean value of Tb.

Dynamic behavior and microstructural properties of cancellous bone

Taylor impact tests on 4340 steel In this section we present the results from Taylor tests on 4340 steel specimens for different initial temperatures and impact velocities.

Validation of the material point method and plasticity with Taylor impact tests

Table 3 shows the initial dimensions, velocity, and temperature of the specimens (along with the type of copper used and the source of the data) that we have simulated and compared with experimental data.

Validation of the material point method and plasticity with Taylor impact tests

The Johnson-Cook model performs quite well in predicting the deformed proﬁle of the specimen.

Validation of the material point method and plasticity with Taylor impact tests

Similar results are obtained for the other room temperature specimens.

Validation of the material point method and plasticity with Taylor impact tests

Specimen D is at a lower temperature than specimen F but the impact velocity of the form is almost double that of the latter.

Validation of the material point method and plasticity with Taylor impact tests